Today is the perfect day to sit and breathe. Snow and ice have basically closed down our area, so here we go. Self-care is such an important part of our lives. We can try to ignore self-care and all that goes along with it, but that will come back to bite us in the tush in the long run. When we neglect self-care we may feel run down, anxious, depressed, sick, etc.

Look back over your previous week and ask yourself a few questions.

How do you feel? Do you feel like you were energized through the previous week or do you feel like you were dragging all week?

Based on your answer to the first question, now ask yourself the following questions:

Did you fuel properly?

Did you get enough sleep?

Did you exercise?

Did you drink enough water?

Did you make time for YOU?

If your answer to the first question was that you were dragging all week, let's look a little closer at the areas where you may be able to tweak some things to improve how your week goes this week.

Fuel- Throw out diet mentality and feed your body. Ensure you're getting an appropriate balance of macronutrients, in addition to calories, so that you don't feel like napping on your desk around 3 PM. Skipping meals will not help you lose weight in the long run. If you need help with this, please reach out to us.

Sleep- An adult female should be getting 7-9 hours of sleep per night. If you're not doing this, and you answered that you were dragging all week above, something has to change.

Exercise- I know it seems counterintuitive to exercise if you're tired, but I promise you, it helps! If you're short on time, shorter workouts can be beneficial as well. Something is always better than nothing. Need help? I'll share a 10-minute workout on our Facebook page tomorrow.

Hydration- Have you ever been dehydrated before? You felt awful, didn't you? Dehydration can cause a host of symptoms, including headaches, sleepiness, lack of energy, confusion, irritability, etc. If you aren't sure if you're drinking enough water or not, you probably aren't drinking enough.

YOU time- Most of us don't make time for ourselves. We put everyone else's needs in front of our own. Schedule your "YOU" time like you do anything else. Stick to it. Even if you just escape to a quiet room for 10 minutes of silence - that counts! The dishes, laundry, etc will still be there later on. Delegate that to some of your family (team) members.

Do you need to make any changes? Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to do this. Each person is going to have a different blueprint for what works for them. Feel good last week? What are some of the things you did that may have contributed to that? Those things should remain a part of your repertoire.